I'm Here Now
by Rosethethief
Summary: After the downfall of the Aether Foundation and the disbandment of Team Skull, Guzma finally gathers up enough courage to confront one of his most precious, childhood friends. Guzma x Cynthia, also known as NaturalRebirthShipping. Rated T for some swearing, and mentions of child abuse. Now a two shot!
1. I'm Here Now

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon or any of its characters. They all belong to Game Freak and the Pokemon Company respectively.**

 **Well, I'm going to be honest with you all, I was _not_ expecting to get this out only three days after publishing my last fic, but I'm really glad that I did, because I honestly think that this is probably one of the _best_ things that I've ever written. I poured a lot of my own thoughts and feelings into this one.**

 **But GuzmaXCynthia is a pairing that I've been** **intrigued with for quite a while, and I strongly believe that this ship will turn out into something great... I wouldn't even mind writing more of these two in the near future.**

 **But anyway, hope you all enjoy it and please be sure to R & R!**

 **UPDATE: Went back and did a little editing, just fixed a couple things up.**

* * *

 **I'm Here Now Chapter: 1**

The scenic outlook was just as it had always been: calm, cleansing, and thoroughly breathtaking… This was his sacred spot, his safe haven from the harshness of reality; away from the judgmental wrath of his father, from his peers, and from the rest of the world… It was only him and his beloved bug type Pokemon.

The young boy was sitting in front of the lake, staring down at his reflection through the ripples of water, his partner Wimpod playfully nibbling at his ear: a messy, raven-haired boy with lively gray eyes was smiling back at him, filled with innocence and quiet determination.

Too distracted by the serenity of the clearing and his own deep thoughts to notice the light rustling coming from behind him, another pair of gray eyes met his own through the reflection in the water.

Spinning around violently and lucky enough to not have fallen in, the young trainer then quickly sprung to his feet and thoroughly examined the intruder: aside from similar eye color, this trainer was a female, with long, wavy blonde hair just barely contained in a ponytail. And standing at her feet, was a tiny, land shark-like Pokemon. Gible, right? The boy knew that there were some Gible native to the Alola region, but also knew that their true origins hailed from a region very far away from his own.

His partner Wimpod, having made itself right at home on its master's shoulder, stared down at the creature in intense curiosity, and it seemed that Gible was also curious, if not more so.

Trying and failing to come off as intimidating towards the girl, as if trying to ward her off, the boy demanded to know why she was here. "Hey, yer not s'posed to be here! This is _my_ spot." Wimpod fidgeted for its trainer's attention, as if correcting him. "Oh, I mean, me and _Wimpod's_ spot."

"Oh, this is your spot? Well, then I'm sorry to intrude." she politely apologized. "Got to hand it to you, though, you picked a _very_ nice spot. It's pretty lovely out here."

The raven-haired boy felt a slight flush spread across his face, awkwardly standing there trying to find the right words. "Um, thanks… Anyway, who are ya? Haven't seen you around at my school."

"I'm Cynthia, and this is my partner, Gible." the dragon type Pokemon chirped happily after having been acknowledged by its trainer. "But you're right, I'm not exactly from around here… I live in Celestic Town, all the way in Sinnoh with my grandmother. She takes me to Alola each Summer on vacation. Anyway, what about you? What's your name?"

The other trainer hesitated, but finally gave Cynthia a name, feigning disinterested. "It's Guzma, and you already know Wimpod. I live here with my parents on Melemele Island. It's nice to meet you, I guess…"

"It's nice to meet you too, Guzma." the blonde grinned. "Anyway, guess we should probably leave you two alone now, huh? Wouldn't want to keep you guys from anything…"

Watching her turn her back on him, Guzma ended up stopping her. Surprisingly, he didn't _want_ to see her go… "Hey, ya know, you're kind of alright in some way, so I _guess_ you can stay… Ya know, if you want…"

Cynthia turned her back to face him again and smiled, flattered by his invitation. "I'd really like that, Guzma, thank you. May I sit with you?"

"Um, yeah, sure." the boy was taken back a bit by her sudden request, but couldn't help the small smile from tugging at his lips.

As the two sat, Cynthia's eyes trailed to the abnormal bruise on Guzma's arm. "Hey, how'd you get that? Does it hurt at all?"

Guzma gave her one of the usual responses that he'd use whenever anyone else asked him this. "It's nothing. Me and Wimpod were just out training and I forgot to see were I was going."

Judging by her wary expression, the trainer knew that she didn't buy it, but how _could_ he tell her? He didn't have the gall to tell her how he _really_ got it, and just the thought of it filled his young gray eyes with fear, as his chest tightened almost on instinct.

 _Please, Dad! Don't hit me again! I tried my best, can't you just be proud of me?!_

As if being able to sense his fear, Cynthia then placed a hand on top of his, the softness of her touch cleansing Guzma of his inner distress. He loved the feeling, but was also slightly confused by it.

"Well, as long as you're Ok." she reassured him, staring out into the open sky. "Alola really is a wondrous place, I'll be really sad once I have to head back to Sinnoh again."

Surprisingly, Guzma's response was almost instant. "We'll keep in touch." It was really strange; Guzma had hardly known this girl, and yet he wanted to see _more_ of her… Whether this had been a fated encounter or not, the boy couldn't deny how much he _enjoyed_ her company.

While both Gible and Wimpod played, the two of them discussed more things about one another; Cynthia shared with Guzma her undying love of ancient Pokemon mythology and lore, while he shared with her his dreams and aspirations of becoming a powerful bug type trainer, possibly even a bug type trial captain.

It was nearly sunset, and the two of them had been so lost in each other's conversations to even notice. "Whenever you're in Alola, and ya feel all alone, you'll know where to find me. I'll always be here, waiting for you… This spot is also now yours and Gible's indefinitely."

Cynthia gave him a sweet and sincere smile, nodding in agreement, glints of sunlight radiating from her wavy blonde hair. "And I know you always will be, Guzma… Just like I'll always be here for you."

* * *

Dark-ringed eyes shot open, as Guzma jolted upright in his bed, confused as all hell but also somewhat glad that it wasn't the usual nightmare; he actually _dreamed_ about her… The very day they had met as children. It had actually warmed the former gang leader's heart being able to relive such an innocent time from his childhood, but the dream was quickly ruined by his snarky subconscious.

 _You never were there for her, ya freaking bastard… If things had gone differently, she'd be sleeping here with you. Probably would never have anymore nightmares then, either._

Putting his head in his hands, Guzma tried his best to cope with this and assured himself that what he did was all for the better; how the _hell_ was he supposed to approach Cynthia the way he was now? The current champion of Sinnoh? Even with Team Skull newly disbanded, would she _still_ even forgive him after all the horrible shit he's done? Stealing Pokemon, terrorizing a whole bunch of people and forcing them out of their homes, working with a manipulative tyrant bent on tearing the very fabric of the universe apart all because of some silly Ultra Beasts? The list was endless…

Shaking his head to rid himself of these thoughts, Guzma decided that a shower would be his best bet to cleanse himself of these hesitant feelings.

* * *

About half an hour or so later, there was a knocking on his bedroom door.

"Whataya want?!" Clearly, the shower didn't help.

"It's Plumeria, G." the rasping voice on the other side answered, letting herself into the boss's room. She was holding an issue of the Ula'ula Times in her right hand.

"Sorry for the attitude dis morning, Plumes, I'm just not used ta dealing with this type of shit…" Guzma's eyes then trailed to the black and white paper being firmly held in Plumeria's grip. "Whatcha got there, sis?"

Without warning, the former Team Skull admin shoved the newspaper into his face, forcing him to look at it. "See for yourself."

Annoyed gray eyes glared at her, but simmered down and redirected their attention towards the article, and Guzma could've _swore_ he felt his heart stop: plastered on the front page was the very same person he had been running away from, the same one that he had desperately tried to avoid any, if not all, confrontations with, even though the thought of not being able to see her again completely _killed_ him… Even in black and white print, Cynthia looked just as radiant and in fine form as ever, and it reminded him of just how much he had secretly _desired_ her in the past; she had been _everything_ Guzma ever wanted…

 _She's everything that you still want, ya freaking numbskull. You were just too much of a coward ta take what was rightfully yours._

"She's really quite a looker, ain't she?" Plumeria dryly commented. "You really do know how to pick em', boss. The only _real_ question is… Whataya gonna do about it?"

So, it's this bullshit again… Out of all the people in his life, outside of his own family, Plumeria was the _only_ other person to know about his deal with Cynthia; when Guzma had first told her, he had honestly been expecting her to come off as her usual overprotective self, but _surprisingly_ she had seemed to have been all for it… And the thought of it was just plain _sickening._ Plumes would have a freaking field day with the dream he had earlier this morning.

So, _here_ the female admin was once again… Trying to pry Guzma off of his sorry ass and urging him to make amends with her, but Guzma would always just give her the same pitiful spiels that he always did, assuring her that it was all for "the best".

Scowling, the ex-crime boss glared from the paper, to Plumeria, angrily slamming the newspaper onto the bed; he didn't want to talk about this anymore, so tried shifting the conversation onto the renovations of the mansion for Team Reskull's new base of operations, but she just wouldn't let up.

"Guzma, she has the _right_ to know!"

"No she doesn't, cuz it ain't any of 'er damn business!"

"LISTEN TO YOURSELF!" Plumeria screamed. "You're not making any sense, G! I just _worry_ about you!"

"Since when have I _ever_ made any sort of sense, Plumes?" Guzma retorted, although his voice much softer now. "I'm sorry, it's just… _How can I possibly face her, even after everything?"_

Plumeria's gaze softens as the delinquent's gray eyes become full of fear, his voice now a harshly low whisper. "I'd only risk losing 'er again in the end, Plumes, and the thought… _Frightens me._ But, I… _Miss her."_

Her face relaxing some more, the former Team Skull admin sighed, before bringing her boss into a touching embrace. Breaking away, Plumeria then advised him. "Just don't beat yourself up too much over this, G. Like I mentioned before, I do worry about you, and I just want you to be happy. Cynthia is clearly someone very important to you, and you might not ever get a chance like this one ever again… I'm sure if you just explain things to her, it'll all work out, because you're _worth_ something to her. But, that's it. I won't bring this up anymore. Let me know how things go, though, kay?"

With quiet resolve from Plumeria, Guzma watched as she gently shut the door behind her. Once she was gone, Guzma let out a deep sigh, before his eyes flew back to the newspaper.

 _Battle Tree, eh?_

While not too keen on the idea of making a scene of himself there, the ex-gang leader knew it was probably his only best bet at rekindling his relationship with Cynthia, so he settled on gathering up Golisopod and the rest of his mons before heading out to Poni Island.

* * *

Much to his dismay, Cynthia hadn't been at the Battle Tree as expected, further souring the delinquent's already foul mood; he had gotten some great battles out of it, at least, although some of them being an absolute cakewalk for him and his team of Pokemon.

But what was he supposed to do now? He didn't have anymore leads as to where in Alola she could possibly be, and all of the anxiety eating away at Guzma was really starting to take a toll on him.

Setting his mind on the idea that he wouldn't run into her here, the ex-con decided to venture to his childhood stomping grounds on Melemele Island before heading back to Ula'ula.

On the way to the usual spot, Guzma visited with his family, and as he left he could've _swore_ that his mother was giving him a seemingly knowing look, grinning at him softly.

 _What the heck was that about?!_

* * *

Nightfall had snuck up on him just as he had arrived at the clearing, really growing to appreciate the beauty of it at night, but then Guzma practically felt the wind being knocked out of him once he realized that he _wasn't_ alone: basking in glow of the moon, in front of the calming ripples of water, was Cynthia, the comforting light of the evening sky bringing out her radiant form, and it was absolutely _breathtaking…_

All of Guzma's instincts were telling him to run, but he was instead entranced by her fleeting presence, closing in on her and filling the void in-between them so he could join her in the light.

Once in her tranquil proximity, the delinquent flinched as she turned around to face him, both of them freezing on the spot; shit, was she going to run? Guzma needed to know.

Instead, she didn't, mouthing some words that he couldn't hear but definitely could make out from her lips.

 _"_ _Guzma… Is that really…?"_

Guzma gave Cynthia a solemn look, gazing at her through sad gray eyes. "The one and only… _It's me, all of me, it's your boy Guzma."_ He then gave her a forlorn, yet apologetic smile, shrugging as if to emphasize his point.

Cynthia let this explanation sink in for a little bit, before her angelic gray eyes broke into tears, spontaneously bringing Guzma into a tight embrace, fresh tears steaming through his shirt. "I'm so glad to see you're safe! I worried _so_ much about you once your parents told me that you ran away from home! And _all_ of those things that your father just told me… Guzma, why didn't you just tell me?!"

The former crime leader, rather ashamed of how much he had hurt her due to his careless actions, only held the Sinnoh champion tighter in his arms as he continued. "Sorry for lying to ya and for not keeping my promise, I guess I was just too afraid ta see that, only ta have my silence hurt ya in the end… We probably could've avoided all of this."

Cynthia looked up at him, her reddened cheeks now covered in dry tears, while Guzma just smiled. "But ain't none of that even matters now, _I'm here now…_ And I ain't ever leaving ya again, Cynthia. I'm real awful glad that I forced myself to come out here tonight, because you're _worth_ it ta me, babe."

Gray eyes seamlessly locked into his, as the delinquent then reached out and softly touched her cheek, mollified by her calming presence; the two of them just stood there holding each other like this for awhile, basking in the warm glow of the moonlight, before closing the gap in-between their lips.


	2. Morning Revelations

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon or any of its characters, they belong to Game Freak and the Pokemon Company respectively.**

 **I just felt like that this was kind of necessary, ya know? Especially because I left a few things unexplained... So, I'm sorry for some of the confusion there.**

 **But this kind of goes into a bit more of my headcanon for them, Cynthia basically being Guzma's mentor, it just** **really _works_ in a rather strange way... Cynthia is also referring to Cyrus near the end of this, in case any of you guys may be wondering.**

 **For the most part, I feel like this came out alright, I'll probably go back and fix a few things if I need to.**

 **But anyway, hope ya'll enjoy this and please feel free to R & R! **

* * *

**I'm Here Now Chapter: 2**

Sunlight filled the room, reflecting off of the luxurious furniture and into the Sinnoh champion's gray eyes. Shooting them open, Cynthia sat up and yawned with a stretch, before turning her attention to the man sleeping beside her; Guzma looked particularly peaceful in his sleep, his body facing hers as she listened to his steady breathing. Judging by the bags around his eyes, the champion wondered if he had even gotten a decent night's sleep before, but quickly shook the thought and ran her fingers through his incredibly soft hair; Guzma stirred a little, but didn't awake, much to her slight relief.

Both of them had spent the night at her newly constructed vacation home, located on the somewhat vacant isles of Poni; Cynthia found this island to be the most practical among the others, being located on the same island as the Battle Tree, as well as not having to deal with a thousand of her fans hounding her every second given the small population. She also admired the rich sense of history here, particularly the ruins along with the island's trial site. Clearly, there had once been several other houses constructed here, only to have most of them gradually erode over time.

The only other residency located here, along with her own, belonged to the newly chosen island kahuna, Hapu, along with her grandmother; Cynthia had actually managed to run into her, and when questioned about Guzma and his whereabouts, the ground type specialist mentioned that the former gang leader had actually assisted her and Mudsdale in relocating someone for proper medical treatment… A woman named _Lusamine_. The blonde knew the name sounded familiar, but she was actually a lot more curious of the connection between the two, if there even was one to begin with. Hopefully, Guzma would provide her with some answers during breakfast, as they still needed to talk about things anyway.

Careful not to disturb him from his slumber, Cynthia then shifted herself quietly out of bed, leaving the room to get started on things in the kitchen.

The champion then released her Pokemon outside for some fresh air, but motioned for her Roserade to stay behind with her to help with getting the breakfast and tea ready; she knew that Guzma probably wouldn't drink tea, but honestly thought that she needed some for herself, especially since they were going to be talking.

Around the time the tea was boiling, Cynthia felt a powerful presence coming up from behind her, one that _definitely_ wasn't her Roserade given the intensity of its movements… Once the loud thudding ceased, Cynthia then turned around and was quite surprised once she found out what it actually was; towering above her with its impressive shadow, was Golisopod, having somehow managed to break out of its ball. How Guzma managed to sleep through this was beyond her, but Roserade looked up from the bowls it had been filling and mirrored its trainer's expression, one filled with awe towards the powerful bug type Pokemon.

Slowly and cautiously, Cynthia then reached out to it, amazed at how calm Golisopod was as it melted into the touch of her hand; it was practically purring as she petted it, a warm smile forming on her lips. "It's great to see you again, too, even though you are being a bit mischievous this morning."

Golisopod let out a low growl as if signing, but then quickly nudged Cynthia's cheek playfully and wrapped a clawed forearm around her; she laughed and nuzzled it back, before getting the arthropod to release her. "I actually want to thank you personally, for helping keep Guzma safe, along with all the others he's grown so close with. He's such a passionate and aspiring trainer, you're so lucky to have him as a friend."

It seemed to have understood her with the slight nodding of its head, before adjusting its eyes all around the room. Cynthia chuckled. "Let me guess… You want to know where Garchomp is, right?" Golisopod quickly returned its gaze on her, and from its frantic expression she could only assume that she was right. "He's outside with the others, follow me, I'll take you to him. Roserade should hopefully be finished preparing breakfast for you guys by the time Guzma wakes up."

Leading Golisopod outside, Cynthia smiled as she watched the arthropod playfully wrestle with Garchomp, leaving for the kitchen again while the two of them caught up with each other just like old friends.

The champion sighed as she scanned through the cabinets around the kitchen; clearly, there wasn't enough around here to scrap together a decent meal, much less for two people, so she had to mentally remind herself to go out shopping later today. Thankfully, though, there were still some leftover malasadas from yesterday, so they would have to suffice for now.

By the time the tea was done and set neatly on the table, Guzma had stumbled through the doorway, rubbing the grogginess out of his gray eyes; all he was wearing was his baggy black and white track pants and a wife beater, his hoodie, gold watch and moon shades currently absent. He looked like a child that had just woken up from his nap, before sitting down at the kitchen table while Cynthia continued to humor this idea.

"Good morning, Guzma." she warmly greeted him. "Did you sleep well?"

"Surprisingly, yes." Guzma replied, trying his best to hide his small smile. "Now that _you're_ here, anyway."

The blonde haired champion felt a slight blush warming up her cheeks, turning away embarrassed by his flirtatious compliment. "That's good. Leftover malasadas alright with you?"

"S'fine with me." he nodded, feeling a tad out of place in his new surroundings.

"Anything to drink? I wasn't sure what you liked…" she commented sheepishly.

"Got any Tapu Cocoa?" he asked.

"I'll see what I can do." Cynthia beamed, beginning to gather all of the ingredients before setting them on the counter. "Golisopod's already outside with all of the others."

Guzma's eyes widened fractionally for a second. "He didn't give ya any trouble, did he?" But even after having looked around, none of the furniture seemed to be out of place, or broken or knocked over.

"No, he was _very_ well-behaved." she humorously assured him, setting a small pan on the stove. "You trained him really well, I'm impressed."

Guzma remained silent for a moment, before letting out a small grunt of acknowledgment as he slightly nodded his head in agreement. By the time Cynthia had turned around again, the former ex-con had started petting Roserade affectionately with the back of his hand; the very sight of this was enough to make her heart melt, seeing her precious childhood friend becoming so close to the Pokemon that she loved dearly, but her heart soon turned heavy upon realizing the overwhelming anxiety etched deeply into his troubled gray eyes.

Cynthia hated seeing him like this, because all it did was make her feel lousy and hopeless of helping him; she decided to fix this right away. "Roserade just got finished preparing breakfast for the others, why don't you go ahead and release your other Pokemon while I go out there and get things set up?"

Guzma's eyes shot straight back up to meet hers, his gaze fixated on them for a moment, before he smiled softly and got up out of his chair; once outside, he released the rest of his mons as Roserade soon joined them, but one of his Pokemon quickly caught the champion's eye.

"Duskull? I didn't know you had one of those… How long has it been with you?" The ghost type itself still looked fairly young, so she could only assume it hadn't been with him for all that long.

Her sudden curiosity had actually caused the ex-gang leader to blush, trying his best to regain his composure as he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "The Alolan champ gave 'im ta me… When he was still an egg. Said she'd love ta see me raise different types of Pokemon, to become stronger, ya know?"

"I think I know what you mean." Cynthia beamed. "I really wouldn't mind helping you with that, either."

"Just whataya trying to say?" he questioned, slightly puzzled by this, yet also intrigued.

"I think it's best that we discuss things only after we've eaten." she quickly added, gesturing for him to follow her back inside.

Guzma sat back down as he watched Cynthia finish up with the cocoa at the stove, carefully handing him a steamy hot mug of it before pulling two sweet malasadas out of the pantry for them to share; the two of them ate in silence, unsure of what to say to one another. Occasionally, they'd both sneak glances at each other, but would quickly look away once either one of them were caught.

Finally, the silence was broken. "So, who's Lusamine?"

Guzma nearly choked on his Tapu Cocoa at the mere mention of her name, sputtering out a hostile response. "Someone that I hope ta never cross paths with ever again… Lousy bitch ruined my already miserable life."

Cynthia took a quick sip of her tea to gather her wits, eyes widening full of concern as she watched his hand grip tightly around the mug, almost as if he was trying to break it. Clearly, not a good response. "I'm sorry, Guzma. I really shouldn't have brought it up."

He let out a deep sigh before roughly rubbing a callused hand at the temple of his head, his other one loosening its grip around the mug. "Nah, s'fine, Cynthia… Ya have the right ta know, anyway." He let out another deep breath before continuing. "Lusamine was the prez of the Aether Foundation, some little organization that was dedicated to Pokemon preservation, and all that jazz… My team was in desperate need of funding at the time, couldn't really steal like we used to with people like Nanu up our asses, so she offered to pay us for screwing around with people so the suspicion was off of them."

"You really care about them, don't you?" the blonde commented with a sweet smile.

"Ya mean my team? Well, yeah, they're like family to me. If it hadn't been for Plumeria, I probably wouldn't even be here right now." he grinned fondly from just the slight mention of her. "Kind of annoying sometimes, scolding me whenever I do stupid shit, but she means well. Kinda like a mother to me, almost." His smirk widened even further. "You kind of are, too."

Cynthia suppressed a giggle before clearing her throat. "Well, I _really_ do care about you, so I can't really help my feelings, I guess. But, _as you were saying…_ Lusamine and the Aether Foundation weren't what they seemed?"

"Yeah, that's right." Guzma went on. "The lady prez may of seemed all cute and innocent, but it was all just a facade underneath to hide her true nature; she lost her husband a few years back to some freak wormhole incident, causing 'er ta pick up on his research after he left. She became _obsessed_ with these things called Ultra Beasts, even to the point of disowning 'er own kids, causing 'em to run off with her own research." He let out another deep sigh before continuing. "But, her son, Gladion, I treated like _shit…_ Didn't treat 'im like one of my own, even though he worked for me. I've made it up ta him since then, giving 'im the role of admin in Team Reskull, but I still don't expect him ta forgive me after that. Told me the reason he thinks his mother went nutso was all so she could reach 'er husband again. But _Lusamine…_ She made me think like I was someone important, on top of the world; it felt great for a while, sure, but made me feel like shit once I was no longer of any use ta her… And then that _thing_ took over me…"

The Sinnoh champion took another swig of her tea, noticing his gray eyes dilating full of fear again; this was a _hell_ of a lot to take in, even for someone like her. She wasn't quite sure herself of where to begin, but before she even could, Guzma stopped her.

"…And I actually remembered what it was like to be scared, my greatest fears _realized._ " his voice was incredibly hoarse now, and Cynthia gasped upon realizing that he was trying to hold back tears, trying her best to recall the last time she's ever seen him cry. Having quickly given up on the recollection, she soon found her hand placed on top of his, easing away the tension with the balming sensation of her fingers.

Guzma's breath hitched from her sudden contact, before his tears began to fall. "I realized that I was so afraid of _losing_ you again, that you'd leave me for what I've become, just… _Why didn't you just give up on me?"_

He continued to violently sob while Cynthia looked on ahead cautiously, carefully trying to find the right words. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some doubts, but they all disappeared once Hala told me about all the good things you've been doing: forming Team Reskull, letting people back into Po Town, community service around the islands… You even _willingly_ volunteered to help relocate Lusamine with Hapu, even after how horribly she treated you. And… _I lost another friend once. I didn't want to lose you, too."_

The ex-gang leader wiped away his remaining tears, sniffling. "Hala… _Really said all those things about me?"_

"Yes, and he actually wants me to be your mentor." the blonde champion shot him a playful wink before continuing, making him blush. "He told me that you needed a beautiful and strong trainer to help keep you in line."

Guzma's face reddened even further, before finally regaining his composure. "You'll, _really_ be my mentor? You're not just like, messing with me, right?"

"No, I'm being pretty serious." Cynthia lightly chuckled. "And I'd actually like for you to travel back to Sinnoh _with_ me. I know you still have your new responsibilities here that you need to take care of, so I don't really expect you to give me your answer right away, plus, I feel like I'm not quite ready myself to leave this place just yet. I was actually thinking about going over to the Battle Tree this morning, and well, I've been wondering if you'd like to be my battle partner…"

His response to Cynthia was almost instant, surprising her once he bolted forward and pulled her in for a quick kiss, ultimately silencing her. "Hell, yeah! Let's do this shit! With me by your side, they don't stand a chance!"


End file.
